Genomic differences between nasal Staphylococcus aureus from hog slaughterhouse workers and their communities.

New human pathogens can emerge from the livestock-human interface and spread into human populations through many pathways including livestock products. Occupational contact with livestock is a risk factor for exposure to those pathogens and may cause further spreading of those pathogens in the community. The current study used whole genome sequencing to explore nasal Staphylococcus aureus obtained from hog slaughterhouse workers and their community members, all of whom resided in a livestock-dense region in rural North Carolina. Sequence data were analyzed for lineage distribution, pathogenicity-related genomic features, and mobile genetic elements. We observed evidence of nasal S. aureus differences between hog workers and non-workers. Nasal S. aureus from hog workers showed a greater lineage diversity than nasal S. aureus from community residents. Hog worker isolates were less likely to carry the φSa3 prophage and human-specific immune evasion cluster genes than community resident isolates (φSa3 prophage: 54.5% vs. 91.7%, Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) corrected p = 0.035; immune evasion cluster genes: 66.7% vs. 100%, BH p = 0.021). Hog worker isolates had a lower prevalence and diversity of enterotoxins than community resident isolates, particularly lacking the enterotoxin gene cluster (39.4% vs. 70.8%, BH p = 0.125). Moreover, hog worker isolates harbored more diverse antibiotic resistance genes, with a higher prevalence of carriage of multiple resistance genes, than community resident isolates (75.8% vs. 29.2%, BH p = 0.021). Phylogenetic analysis of all ST5 isolates, the most abundant lineage in the collection, further supported separation of isolates from hog workers and non-workers. Together, our observations suggest impact of occupational contact with livestock on nasal S. aureus colonization and highlight the need for further research on the complex epidemiology of S. aureus at the livestock-human interface

Exploring the determinants of organic matter bioavailability through substrate-explicit thermodynamic modeling

Microbial decomposition of organic matter (OM) in river corridors is a major driver of nutrient and energy cycles in natural ecosystems. Recent advances in omics technologies enabled high-throughput generation of molecular data that could be used to inform biogeochemical models. With ultrahigh-resolution OM data becoming more readily available, in particular, the substrate-explicit thermodynamic modeling (SXTM) has emerged as a promising approach due to its ability to predict OM degradation and respiration rates from chemical formulae of compounds. This model implicitly assumes that all detected organic compounds are bioavailable, and that aerobic respiration is driven solely by thermodynamics. Despite promising demonstrations in previous studies, these assumptions may not be universally valid because OM degradation is a complex process governed by multiple factors. To identify key drivers of OM respiration, we performed a comprehensive analysis of diverse river systems using Fourier- transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry OM data and associated respiration measurements collected by the Worldwide Hydrobiogeochemistry Observation Network for Dynamic River Systems (WHONDRS) consortium. In support of our argument, we found that the incorporation of all compounds detected in the samples into the SXTM resulted in a poor correlation between the predicted and measured respiration rates. The data-model consistency was significantly improved by the selective use of a small subset (i.e., only about 5%) of organic compounds identified using an optimization method. Through a subsequent comparative analysis of the subset of compounds (which we presume as bioavailable) against the full set of compounds, we identified three major traits that potentially determine OM bioavailability, including: (1) thermodynamic favorability of aerobic respiration, (2) the number of C atoms contained in compounds, and (2) carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio. We found that all three factors serve as “filters” in that the compounds with undesirable properties in any of these traits are strictly excluded from the bioavailable fraction. This work highlights the importance of accounting for the complex interplay among multiple key traits to increase the predictive power of biogeochemical and ecosystem models

Multidrug-resistant and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hog slaughter and processing plant workers and their community in North Carolina (USA)

Background: Use of antimicrobials in industrial food-animal production is associated with the presence of antimicrobial resistant Staphylococcus aureus among animals and humans. Hog slaughter/processing plants process large numbers of animals from industrial animal operations, and are environments conducive to the exchange of bacteria between animals and workers. Objectives: To compare the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and multidrug resistant S. aureus(MDRSA) carriage between processing plant workers, their household members, and community residents. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of hog slaughter/processing plant workers, their household members, and community residents in North Carolina. Participants responded to a questionnaire and provided a nasal swab. Swabs were tested for S. aureus, and isolates tested for antimicrobial susceptibility and subjected to multilocus sequence typing. Results: The prevalence of S. aureus was 21.6%, 30.2%, and 22.5% among 162 workers, 63 household members, and 111 community residents, respectively. The overall prevalence of MRSA and MDRSA tested by disk diffusion was 4.8% and 6.9%, respectively. The adjusted prevalence of MDRSA among workers was 1.96 times (95% CI: 0.71, 5.45) the prevalence in community residents. The adjusted average number of antimicrobial classes to which S. aureus isolates from workers were resistant was 2.54 times (95% CI: 1.16, 5.56) the number among isolates from community residents. One MRSA isolate and two MDRSA isolates from workers were identified as sequence type 398, a type associated with exposure to livestock. Conclusions: Although the prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA was similar in hog slaughter/processing plant workers and their household and community members, S. aureus isolates from workers were resistant to a greater number of antimicrobial classes. These findings may be related to the non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials in food-animal production

Multidrug-Resistant and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Hog Slaughter and Processing Plant Workers and Their Community in North Carolina (USA)

Background: Use of antimicrobials in industrial food-animal production is associated with the presence of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) among animals and humans. Hog slaughter/processing plants process large numbers of animals from industrial animal operations and are environments conducive to the exchange of bacteria between animals and workers

Cyanidin-3-o-Glucoside Pharmacologically Inhibits Tumorigenesis via Estrogen Receptor β in Melanoma Mice

Expression patterns of estrogen receptors [ERα, ERβ, and G-protein associated ER (GPER)] in melanoma and skin may suggest their differential roles in carcinogenesis. Phytoestrogenic compound cyanidin-3-o-glucoside (C3G) has been shown to inhibit the growth and metastatic potential of melanoma, although the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism of action of C3G in melanoma in vitro and in vivo, as well as to characterize the functional expressions of ERs in melanoma. In normal skin or melanoma (n = 20/each), no ERα protein was detectable, whereas expression of ERβ was high in skin but weak focal or negative in melanoma; and finally high expression of GPER in all skin vs. 50% melanoma tissues (10/20) was found. These results correspond with our analysis of the melanoma survival rates (SRs) from Human Protein Atlas and The Cancer Genome Atlas GDC (362 patients), where low ERβ expression in melanoma correlate with a poor relapse-free survival, and no correlations were observed between SRs and ERα or GPER expression in melanoma. Furthermore, we demonstrated that C3G treatment arrested the cell cycle at the G2/M phase by targeting cyclin B1 (CCNB1) and promoted apoptosis via ERβ in both mouse and human melanoma cell lines, and inhibited melanoma cell growth in vivo. Our study suggested that C3G elicits an agonistic effect toward ERβ signaling enhancement, which may serve as a potential novel therapeutic and preventive approach for melanoma

An Explorative Methodology to Assess the Risk of Fire and Human Fatalities in a Subway Station Using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS)

Subway transportation is one of the most prevalent urban transportation methods globally. Millions of people around the globe use this medium as their mode of transportation daily. However, subway stations may be highly prone to fire, smoke, or explosion accidents. The safety of people using subway stations demands a robust and practical framework to assess fire hazards and risks. This study provides a methodology to assess fire risk at a subway station. This study integrates fault tree analysis (FTA) and fuzzy analysis to conduct a comprehensive fire risk assessment. An integrated numerical model of fire temperature and fatality rate was developed using probit correlations for various fire exposure scenarios. The fire dynamics simulator (FDS) provides the probability distribution of casualties caused by fire. To demonstrate the operationalization of the model, Line 1 of the Harbin Metro, located in China, is used as a case study. Results show a probability of 42% of having fire risk in the subway station. Results reveal the highest fatality rate is 6.2% when evacuation time exceeds 200 s. The research helps us to understand the spread of smoke and temperature distribution due to a fire in a subway station. This study is helpful for fire protection engineers, safety managers, and local fire departments to develop a contingency plan to deal with fire in a subway statio

A temporal LASSO regression model for the emergency forecasting of the suspended sediment concentrations in coastal oceans:Accuracy and interpretability

In situ observations of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and hydrodynamics were conducted in the subaqueous Yellow River Delta, China. With the dataset, a new least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model with temporal autocorrelation incorporated (temporal LASSO) is proposed for SSC prediction and mechanism investigation in coastal oceans. The model is concise and practical, effectively shrinking the interrelated variables into representative ones, while also achieving one-hour ahead forecasting with both higher accuracy and better interpretability than other data-driven methods. The model interpretability is further validated with direct data analysis from a physical perspective. Specifically, Empirical Mode Decomposition is employed to decouple the measured SSC into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residual. The periods of each subseries estimated from both zero-crossing and spectrum analysis show that IMF1 physically corresponds to the sediment resuspension by M4 tidal currents, IMF2 is the M2 tidal advection, IMF3-IMF5 are the resuspension by wind waves, IMF6 is the spring–neap tidal pumping of sediments. The contributions estimated with the ratio of variance are 12 %, 14 %, 63 %, and 10 %, respectively, over the observation period. The residual is the seasonal variations which can be taken as the background SSC thus not included for variance contribution. Waves make the dominant contribution which verifies the rationality of the LASSO shrinkage and confirms the model interpretability. The temporal LASSO model is shown to be a potential tool for emergency forecasting and mechanism explanation of SSC to benefit ocean environmental engineering management.</p

Urban Impacts on Surface Water Microbiome in the Lower Portneuf River Valley Watershed

Rapid urbanization within the last several decades has affected the Earth’s biosphere, including microbial ecosystems. One example is the release of various pollutants, both abiotic and biotic, into the aquatic environment by urban stormwater runoff. Common abiotic pollutants include elevated nutrient loads from domestic wastewater effluent and/or septic tank leaking, drug compounds from antimicrobial medication use, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs); they represent an ecological driving force on the micro-biosphere. Common biotic pollutants include microbiota associated with humans and their pets as well as genetic material of those microorganisms. Together, these abiotic and biotic pollutants could have profound impacts on microbial communities in the aquatic environment. Specifically, the increasing presence of antimicrobial compounds and other PPCPs may promote genomic augmentation within microbial communities residing in hotspots that leads to a decrease in microbial susceptibility to antibiotics. This study aims to use the lower Portneuf River valley watershed as a natural laboratory to examine impacts of the City of Pocatello, Idaho on surface water microbial communities. Water samples were collected along an urban impact gradient across the Pocatello Creek watershed, a tributary of the Portneuf River. Total environmental DNA was extracted from 20 surface water samples. Metagenomic analysis was conducted on bacterial 16S rRNA genes for profiling microbial community structure and predicting community function. Conventional PCR was performed to identify the presence of 19 antibiotic resistance genes, 3 different mobile genetic elements, and 2 biomarkers indicating human and dog specific fecal pollution. Real-time PCR was conducted to quantitatively assess the occurrence of selected resistance genes, nitrogen cycling related microbial groups, and the dog fecal pollution biomarker. These nested microbiome analyses, in conjunction with water chemistry data, offered a better understanding of urban impacts on surface water microbiome, water quality, and potential public health issues at the watershed level

Genomic differences between nasal <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> from hog slaughterhouse workers and their communities

<div><p>New human pathogens can emerge from the livestock-human interface and spread into human populations through many pathways including livestock products. Occupational contact with livestock is a risk factor for exposure to those pathogens and may cause further spreading of those pathogens in the community. The current study used whole genome sequencing to explore nasal <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> obtained from hog slaughterhouse workers and their community members, all of whom resided in a livestock-dense region in rural North Carolina. Sequence data were analyzed for lineage distribution, pathogenicity-related genomic features, and mobile genetic elements. We observed evidence of nasal <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> differences between hog workers and non-workers. Nasal <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> from hog workers showed a greater lineage diversity than nasal <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> from community residents. Hog worker isolates were less likely to carry the φSa3 prophage and human-specific immune evasion cluster genes than community resident isolates (φSa3 prophage: 54.5% vs. 91.7%, Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) corrected <i>p</i> = 0.035; immune evasion cluster genes: 66.7% vs. 100%, BH <i>p</i> = 0.021). Hog worker isolates had a lower prevalence and diversity of enterotoxins than community resident isolates, particularly lacking the enterotoxin gene cluster (39.4% vs. 70.8%, BH <i>p</i> = 0.125). Moreover, hog worker isolates harbored more diverse antibiotic resistance genes, with a higher prevalence of carriage of multiple resistance genes, than community resident isolates (75.8% vs. 29.2%, BH <i>p</i> = 0.021). Phylogenetic analysis of all ST5 isolates, the most abundant lineage in the collection, further supported separation of isolates from hog workers and non-workers. Together, our observations suggest impact of occupational contact with livestock on nasal <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> colonization and highlight the need for further research on the complex epidemiology of <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> at the livestock-human interface.</p></div

Genomic differences between nasal <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> from hog slaughterhouse workers and their communities - Fig 1

<p><b>Profiles of (A) virulence factors and (B) antimicrobial resistance genes for the 76 sequenced nasal <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> isolates.</b> Each row represents one isolate from an individual, with the color bar on the left side indicating host groups (red, community residents; green, household members; blue, hog workers) and the texts on the right side indicating lineages.</p